Dolphins WIP
by Moonbeam's Predilections
Summary: [seaQuest/Free Willy crossover] Animals can get in just as much trouble as people, but animals with human friends can't avoid it. Features Darwin and Einstein. Suspension of disbelief required.
1. Chapter One

**Disclaimer**: Ummm… okay, so far, only Ruth the Sea Turtle is mine. Everybody else belongs to everybody else. But heck, don't ask me who's who. I haven't a clue.

**Author's Notes**: This is a _seaQuest_/_Free Willy_ crossover. Yeah, scary thought, huh? Well, brace yourselves. It gets worse. It ain't crossed with the _Free Willy_ movies, but with the animated TV series _based_ on the movies. Never heard of it or don't remember it? Don't worry, I don't remember much either -- but I'll do my best to fully introduce everything so you don't get left behind. Just know this for now… most of this story is from the animals' perspective, and wonder of wonders, it's actually gonna have a plot. Believe it or not, I'm trying to treat this ridiculous plot bunny seriously and write a half-decent story. And if you don't like it? Tough. I'd rather be writing PirateSlash.

* * *

Untitled WIP

By Moonbeam (mbeam@hotmail.com)

Floating on her back at the surface, her snout just peaking out from between the waves, the California sea lion glared reproachfully at the duo drifting along beside her. "Just whose crazy idea was this, anyway?"

In answer, a puff of air sent a spray of water jetting up a few feet only to come raining back down on her nose. Lucille twitched her whiskers in annoyance and just barely refrained from snapping at her overgrown companion. "Don't look at me, Lucille," said companion retorted irritably, reminding the sea lion that they were all on short tempers at the moment. "I was supposed to take Einstein out for his shark-fighting lesson today. You're the one that talked us into coming with you guys instead."

"Yeah, like we really had to twist your fin to get you to come," interjected the weak voice from the shivering figure perched high on the large mammal's back.

Under the waves, a pair of worried dark eyes met in a concerned glance. The killer whale, shaky teenage boy curled up against his dorsal fin, slowly beat his powerful tail until his great body rose higher out of the water. The sun pounded hot upon his exposed black skin, but he was in no danger of drying out. The rough wind kept stirring the waves, drenching both his back and his passenger at irregular intervals. Good for him, not so good for his human friend.

"You okay up there, Jesse?" the orca asked, his voice rumbling deep and powerful in proportion to his size. Jesse had always marvelled that an animal as large as Willy, with such a deep speaking voice, should use such a beautifully high tone while singing.

Then again, Jesse thought ruefully, it was still a marvel that he could understand him at all. 

All the same, he was glad he could. He probably wouldn't have survived this stupid trip if he hadn't been able to depend on the killer whale to save his life. Willy had been his best friend for years, long before he ever learned he could speak the common animal tongue, and the orca had saved his life back then as well. He'd done so several times throughout the years they'd known one another, and Jesse had reciprocated. Lucille and Einstein had also joined in the fun, getting themselves and their friends into trouble as often as they got them out of it. 

But Jesse was alive right now thanks to his non-human friends. When the small craft he was in was swept up in the storm, he and the sea lion on deck hadn't been able to do anything but hold on for the ride. Jesse had tied his line off to the boat rail, wrapped his arms around Lucille's strong neck to help her keep her balance, and hunkered down to pray. Willy and Einstein, an experienced ex-performing killer whale and a clever little four-year old bottle-nose dolphin, dove beneath the thrashing waves and followed the out of control vessel's path as the storm carried it out to sea.

When the storm finally eased off, Jesse had thought the worst was over. He released his grip on the sea lion trembling in his arms and turned his head to assess the damage to his small craft. It was thus he was able to get out a brief cry at the sight of the huge wave about to descend upon them, then his voice was drowned out as the wash of water flipped what left of his boat and shattered it into pieces. 

Lucille, no longer being held securely by the determined teen, had been swept overboard with the first blast of water. Without her weight to anchor him, Jesse swung wildly around on his tie-line until the force of the wave finally jammed his thin body against the wheel of the helm. The breath knocked out of him, the boy could do nothing as the borrowed speed boat capsized and encased him in a tomb of icy salt water.

His unique friendship with wild marine animals came in very useful then. Instead of drowning and perishing with his sinking craft never to be seen again, an orca with attitude came up underneath the tilting bow and held it aloft just long enough for a sleek dolphin to dart in and pull the trapped boy out. Jesse's lifejacket then bobbed him up to the frothing surface, where he was met by a slightly dizzy but otherwise fine Lucille. 

Once they'd ascertained that everyone was relatively okay, Einstein decided to go swim around the area and see if he could spot anyone or anything that might help them. Willy had had every intention of going with the dolphin, since two could search better than one, at least until the normally abstracted Lucille pointed out a very important truth -- the long gash in Jesse's leg was leaking pungent red blood that was bound to attract any nearby sharks and if the orca left, both she and the boy would be defenceless. After that, the decision was easy. Willy stayed put, and Jesse clambered up onto his back before his dripping wound flashed a figurative "Free Buffet!" neon sign to every predator in the sea. Einstein took off on his own, laughingly doing a victory jump at the gentle ribbing by his ipso-de-facto teacher about getting to skip out on his shark-fighting lesson again.

Jesse was glad for his friends' support. Mostly covered as he was in a wetsuit, he wasn't really in danger of freezing in the relatively warm ocean currents, and with his lifejacket on it was unlikely he'd drown, but the salt of the ocean was aggravating the pain of his leg-wound. It was both tiring and distracting. He was finding it hard to concentrate on keeping himself floating upright, head above water, when all he wanted to do was curl up into a ball around his throbbing calf. Being on Willy's back gave him the opportunity to focus his attention on the thankfully shallow gash and to assess the damage done. The only drawback was that, while the cold of the water had slowed the bleeding, the wound was refusing to close. He had to rip one of the straps off his lifevest to wrap around his leg and put pressure onto the wound -- a procedure he found hurt even worse than the time a swordfish speared his side, his previous 'most painful injury' to date. 

Come to think of it, he'd been revising that 'most painful injury' list fairly often lately. 

Jesse sighed, looking despondently at the wreckage. "Randolph is never gonna forgive me for this. He told me not to take the boat too far out to sea. Now we don't even know where we are."

"Einstein will be back soon. Maybe he'll have found something."

"Yeah, maybe. I just hope he's okay. He's still kinda young, Willy."

"And stupid," Lucille muttered, though her voice lacked its usual harshness. She was worried too.

Willy rode a wave, turning his pectoral fins into the current to surf the curl. "He'll be fine. He's been getting a lot better lately. It's only when his curiousity gets the best of him that he gets into trouble. I've been trying to teach him to think before he acts."

The sea lion lazing on her back rolled and snorted. "Oh, like you're the best teacher for _that_."

"Cut it out you two," Jesse said. "Einstein knows how important this is. He'll either find someone and lead them here, or he'll come back when his time's up." He glanced up at the sun, now shining from high overhead. "And his time's almost up."

~*~*~*~*~*~

Einstein followed the current for several miles, his powerful tail pushing him cleanly through the quick moving water. Using his echolocation to guide him where the turbidity was high just as Willy had taught him, the small dolphin searched diligently for any sign of humans. He glided just under the surface, jumping every now and then into the warmer air to get a good look around him, before diving deep where he could listen to the sounds that travelled long distances underwater.

When he'd first set out, Einstein had been confident he'd accomplish his goal quickly and come back triumphant. Jesse had warned him to be back by the time the sun was directly above the ocean, sitting at its highest point in the sky. Noon, as Einstein had learned the humans called it -- though try as he might, he still couldn't quite grasp the concept of counting time as his two-legged friend did. Now it was nearing that time already, yet the dolphin had still not seen another living soul. Not even a lousy fish, for crying out loud.

Living with Willy at the cove hadn't really prepared him for just how big and empty the ocean truly was. He'd been resisting the killer whale's offers to spend time with the orca pod, wanting to stay close to his comfortable home where the fish was plentiful and the company friendly. Willy had wanted him to experience more of the ocean, something he'd have been safe to do amidst the larger cetacean's family. Swimming alone in the vast blue void, he wished he'd taken his teacher up on the offer.

Getting discouraged by  his lack of success, Einstein took a deep breath and dove deep. In his despondency, he wasn't watching where he was going. He never saw the thin-lined web he swam into, but he sure felt it when it wrapped constrictingly around his throat.

The young dolphin panicked, struggling wildly in a mindless attempt to free himself from the thing attacking him. He twisted and spun, jerked and flipped, but the thing held on and actually seemed to wind tighter around him. Einstein shrieked, terrified, until he finally forced himself to calm down when nothing further happened to him. 

Stilling his thrashing, Einstein opened eyes he hadn't realised he'd closed. He was startled to see not some great sea monster out to eat him, but a ragged rope net. A net! He'd swum right into some human's lost net and not even noticed. How dumb could he be?!

Growling angrily, Einstein grabbed a segment of the net between his teeth and tried to tear it off. The segment snapped apart, but the rest of the net refused to be loosened. The dolphin kept trying, becoming more and more frustrated as his efforts only served to entangle him more. Before he knew it, he'd drifted down into the deeper levels of the ocean where even the sunlight barely penetrated the bluish darkness. Gulping in fear, feeling his lungs clench as his breath ran out, Einstein decided maybe now was a good time to start panicking again. He glanced wide-eyed at the immediate area around him, but could still see no one who could help him.

Einstein was sure he was going to die, going to drown right then and there, all alone without any of his friends.

No, wait! His friends! They were depending on him, he _couldn't_ die! They needed him! _Jesse_ needed him.

And desperation leant him a strength he didn't know he possessed. Determination filled his young being, and the dolphin stilled in the water. In moments, the ocean went silent, seemingly poised in wait. Einstein concentrated on his heartbeat, slowed his racing pulse, then let loose the loudest, longest distress call he could. 

Maybe there weren't any humans around, but there had to be _somebody_ out there. Hopefully, someone would hear his call, rescue him, and then maybe together they could figure out how to save his friends.

At the very least, maybe he wouldn't die alone. 

~*~*~*~*~*~

With the seaQuest far behind him and the weight of the airpack snug over his blowhole, Darwin took a break from his fishing expedition to dance and play in his own private playground. He dashed through the water, spun and twisted and darted in playful patterns, happily making use of the openness of the ocean to move about as he couldn't in the tight confines of his home. Much as he loved his pod and the boat they lived on, Darwin never lost his longing for the freedom of living wild. He'd take his opportunities to leave the seaQuest whenever he could. Though, of course, he would always go back -- humans or no, Bridger and Lucas and all the rest were as much his pod as the dolphins with which he grew up. More so, perhaps, since though his mother welcomed him back every time he visited, young males rarely stayed with their maternal pods once they became independent. 

Giving his head a shake, Darwin cleared his mind of heavy thought and returned to enjoying himself. He hung vertically in the water, nose pointed down into the black depths that sheltered seaQuest, and sent off a burst of sonar to echo down in the hidden darkness. Not even bothering to sit and wait for any possible returning signals, the dolphin chittered a laugh, swung about, and shot for the light up above. He flitted up through the water, rode the varying currents, and scattered high-pitched sound waves all around him with every twisting turn. Feeling as young and carefree as a two-year old calf, the ten-year old dolphin laughed and yelled as he played, making enough noise for half-a-dozen youngsters all on his own.

At one point in his play, Darwin flipped and changed direction to investigate a blip on his echolocation. What he found was a lonely sea turtle slowly making its way through the ocean, the old female uninterested in the playful predator that swam out of nowhere to drift along beside her. She'd outgrown most of her natural predators decades ago, and with the strength of her shell protecting her back and underbelly, she didn't bother to summon any concern over the dolphin now dodging her flippers.

"Hey," Darwin called out cheerfully, heedless of her obvious attempts to ignore him. "Where ya goin'?"

The turtle sighed, bubbles of air escaping her mouth as she stopped to look at the bothersome mammal. Realising he wasn't likely to go away on his own, Ruth allowed herself to float up to the surface where she could talk and breathe at the same time. The pesky dolphin followed right along beside her.

"The polite thing to do, young one," she admonished after a breath, "would be to introduce yourself before you start asking me questions."

The dolphin grinned at her. "My name is Darwin. And yours, ma'am?" he added with pronounced civility.

She chose to ignore his cheeky tone -- while respected for their intelligence, dolphins weren't known for their manners. "I'm Ruth, sonny. And in answer to your first question, I'm on my way to the beach where I was born so long ago."

"Why are you going back there?" he asked curiously, rolling on his side to peer at her with the other eye.

Ruth sighed again. "I'm going to lay my eggs, son, as I've done many times throughout my long life. My children will be hatched on the same beach where I was, as will their children after them. I expect I'll even come across a few of my previous daughters making the same trip as I am. It's what we turtles do," she explained patiently. 

"Sounds boring," Darwin decided.

"That it may be to you, youngster," she didn't take offence," but to me, it's all the excitement I need. I'm too old to be doing much else." Ruth paused, her algae-encrusted eyes finally getting a good look at the grey dolphin whose long snout was poked in her face. "Excuse me -- Darwin, was it? -- but what is that _thing_ wrapped around you? I've been around for a lot of seasons, but I've never seen anything so odd."

Darwin swam out and turned in a circle before her, letting the aged sea turtle examine him in his bright blue and yellow air pack. "My human friends gave it to me. It lets me breathe even when I'm underwater. I can swim for hours without coming to the surface, and swim as deep as the cold will let me. Isn't it great?" he enthused.

Ruth shook her head. "Humans? And you wear it willingly? It looks like it's trying to strangle you. Are you sure your not ill?" she asked, showing some hints of maternal concern. 

The dolphin laughed. "No, it doesn't hurt me. Lucas would never do anything to hurt me -- he's my pod."

"Lucas, eh?" Ruth looked him over shrewdly. "You need to be careful of humans, son. It was one of them who named me . . . when he pierced me with a _tag_ to hunt me." Her slightly gravelly but pleasant voice went suddenly hard and flat. "Humans can't be trusted, Darwin. You be careful around them if you know what's good for you."

They had drifted downwards as they talked, the excitable dolphin sometimes swimming a few lengths away before returning to the turtle's side as she gradually descended into the darker areas of the clear blue ocean. Darwin darted off for a few seconds longer this time, Ruth actually losing sight of his swift-moving form despite the colourful pack he carried. Unlike the other playful dancing he'd been doing, it was not giddiness that spurred this jaunt but aggravation.

"Not all humans are bad," he insisted upon his return. "My humans aren't -- they're friends, family. They're my pod. They love me and I love them." He beat his tail emphatically, sending poor Ruth scrambling to ride the turbulence he caused. "Bridger saved my life when I got sick. He's been my brother ever since."

It was obvious how much the dolphin cared about his human 'pod'. Even Ruth's failing eyesight could see it. "That may be, child," she said gently, but firmly. "But most humans only mean us harm. We animals have to be careful of them and take care of each other. You never know when they might attack."

Darwin sighed, but nodded in agreement. "I know. I've had my own fair share of bad experiences with humans. But my pod is different. They help the animals of the ocean." He grinned. "Even sharks."

Ruth chuckled. "See? What did I tell you. No sense, those silly humans. Helping sharks, indeed," she muttered reprovingly. "And what have they ever done for sea turtles, hmm?"

"Ha!" Darwin laughed. "And I was just beginning to think maybe you weren't as wise as you turtles always claim to be."

"Now, son," Ruth said sternly, waving a flipper in his face with a twinkle in her eye. "Don't go bad-talking us turtles. You never know when one of you dolphins is going to need our wisdom. Your 'nice' humans won't always be around to rescue you."

"Dolphins wouldn't need help," Darwin shot back, dolphin-grin lighting up his expression. "We're too smart to get into trouble."

The ancient great-great-great-grandmother snorted. "Right, sonny," she nodded mildly. "Just remember -- the smarter they are, the more tricky the trouble they get into."

"Ain't that the truth!" Darwin agreed, twirling in place as Ruth smiled kindly at his antics. "Maybe that's why we always live in groups," he added jokingly.

"So someone will be around to get you out of trouble, you mean? Only works if you all--"

Ruth's voice trailed off as a high-toned sound caught her ear. Beside her, Darwin listened to the distinct cry echoing through the water and stiffened noticeably.

"What? What is it, Darwin?" the sea turtle asked quietly, curious but reluctant to disturb the suddenly tense atmosphere.

Darwin shuddered, his sleek grey body twisting in circle as he worked to pinpoint the direction the call had come from. His sharp mind was equally engaged with the task and spared only a small part to answer Ruth's question. "A distress call. A _dolphin's_ distress call -- and an urgent one at that."

Ruth didn't see the problem. "So some silly dolphin's gotten into trouble? That's it? Don't worry, Darwin. It's just like we were just saying -- his pod will take care of him."

But Darwin shook his head. "No. There aren't supposed to be any dolphins in this part of the ocean. There is no pod around for miles. That dolphin must be alone."

"Darwin--"

"No! He needs help! I've got to go!" and he took off like a bullet, not even bothering to say goodbye.

Watching him speed away, the sunshine yellow of the brightly coloured human contraption the last thing to vanish, Ruth sighed. "Good luck, little one," she whispered in his wake. "And be careful."

~*~*~*~*~*~

Well, four years wasn't the longest of lives, Einstein reflected, but at least it had been full of adventure. Separated from his mother at an early enough age that he never got the chance to learn to live like a dolphin, raised by humans in a marine park far from the ocean, until events he couldn't understand landed him back in the unfamiliar waters of his birth -- all alone. He was very lucky that his path crossed with that of a human boy out for a swim with his killer whale. The pair had taken him in, become first his friends and quickly his family. Even Lucille, the usually haughty sea lion, had become like a sister to him. She even played ball with him, as long as no one else was looking and he swore not to tell.

As the need for air grew uncomfortable, Einstein wished he could see them one last time. Tell them how much he loved them, and how thankful he was to have known them. And to say he was sorry, sorry for failing to find the help his friends needed. That hurt most of all, more so than the cold he felt seeping in through the layer of blubber under his skin, more so than the darkness encroaching on his vision, more so even than the tightness in his chest as his lungs ran out of air. He'd failed his friends. Because of him, Jesse and maybe even Lucille, might die as well. Willy would be fine, the orca strong enough and smart enough to survive, but there was little comfort in the knowledge. It would just mean there would be someone left behind to hate him for his failure. 

One more thing to hurt him from the Great Beyond. Wasn't death supposed to be a relief from pain? he wondered absently as his vision went grey and his body went limp. 

"Hold on!" a voice called from the darkness, and Einstein snorted in what was left of his mind. Great, now he was hallucinating . . . 

~*~*~*~*~*~

Darwin swam as fast as he could, powering through the water toward the source of the distress call. His concern grew as every stroke of his fluke pushed him deeper into the darkness of the ocean. The farther down he went, the farther away from the surface and its life-giving air the dolphin would be. The chances of an animal surviving, unless it was lucky enough to have an airpack, were slim. Darwin prayed he wasn't too late.

There! From out of the darkness, a shape began to appear. Darwin forced another burst of speed, darting to the limp figure of a young dolphin sinking fast. Within seconds, it became obvious why the other dolphin had called out. It's small grey body was wrapped nose to tail in a cocoon of green rope. The poor thing had gotten itself tangled up in a drifting net, and the weight of the net had drawn it downwards despite the child's struggles. The calf -- and it was a calf, Darwin noted sadly -- must have been terrified as it fought for air and found only water. 

If only he had been quicker, Darwin mourned as pulled up beside the calf. The _seaQuest_ was close now, just a few hundred feet further down -- Darwin could see the light the big boat put off. If he'd been faster, he could have brought the younger male to Lucas and Bridger. They could have saved him, he was sure. 

Gently, sorrowfully, Darwin touched his nose to the dead calf's melon in goodbye. 

The calf twitched, briefly.

Darwin reared back in shock. Alive! He was still alive! There was still a chance! "Hold on, little one!" he cried and clamped his teeth in the murderous net. Then he used that which sought to kill the dolphin to drag the child to safety.

He swam as hard as he could, pulling the limp form of the calf along beside him as he descended toward _seaQuest_. He whistled reassuringly to the little dolphin, encouraged him to hold on, to not leave for the Eternal Dark yet. Almost there, almost there . . . The light grew brighter as _seaQuest_ approached, until finally Darwin could see the boat he called home. He clicked in relief . . . so close, so close!

A shrill blast of sound escape him as he swam under the boat and saw with joy the hatch to the swimtubes still wide open. Not hesitating a moment, Darwin darted into the tunnel with his precious cargo drifting along beside him. The moonpool loomed large and inviting just up ahead, and yes! People! Help was there! 

Darwin didn't even bother trying to speak to them through Lucas's machine. He just shot straight up out of the water, screaming as loudly as he could, and crashing back down so hard he soaked the deck with the splash. But the undignified entrance served its purpose and everyone stopped to stare at him. With an impatient whine, _seaQuest_'s resident dolphin pushed the immobile calf up onto the sloping platform where they could get to him. He was gratified to see that the humans, after a moment's hesitation while they processed what they were seeing, leapt into action. Three crewmembers surrounded the calf in seconds, one drawing a knife to begin cutting away the vile net while the others began screaming themselves. 

Darwin sank back in the water, watching anxiously. Please let it not be too late . . . 

~*~*~*~*~*~

To Be Continued . . . 

**Author's Notes: **If you read this far and think this story actually has possibility, please let me know in a review. If you read this far and think I'm losing my sanity -- too late, I already know. But if you actually have anything constructive to say anyway, I'll be glad to hear it. Oh, and if anybody ever comes up with a suitable title, the Suggestion Box is OPEN. Thank you.


	2. Chapter Two

**Author's Notes: **Hey, amazing . . . People are actually reading this! Hi, people! ::Moonbeam waves manically:: S'okay, **Kiddo**, yes this chapter has more of _seaQuest_'s human crew. **Mmselle**, thanks for the reassurance about the characterisations. There's at least one good thing about nobody having a clue about the _Free Willy_ characters -- no one can tell me I'm writing them wrong. ::snerk:: But, **FishFace12**, you're probably gonna have to wait awhile for the next chapter. It won't be written as quickly as this one.

And oh, yeah . . . I'm still looking for a decent title. You guys got any ideas?

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Still Untitled

By Moonbeam

"I'm still not convinced this is a good idea, Nathan," Dr. Kristin Westphalen said quietly as she stood on the bridge with the Captain and Executive Officer.

"It's not like we have a choice, Doctor. The UEO supports the McNamara Institute's studies into biogenetic research. _seaQuest_'s outer skin was developed at McNamara, as were dozens of other valuable technologies. If terrorists are attempting to breach McNamara's security, then it's imperative that we protect the Institute."

Dr. Westphalen rolled her eyes at Commander Ford's recital. "Yes, Commander," she agreed mildly, "but it's not the Institute I'm worried about so much as ourselves -- and the bio-skin is the very reason for my concern. The medical staff on McNamara has reported elevating radiation levels. No one yet seems to know why, either. It's entirely possible that it was indeed terrorist activity that's threatening the Institute, and I'm almost hoping it is. Because if it isn't, if it's something natural causing this, then it means there is an even greater potential for the radiation levels to continue rising. Unfortunately, _seaQuest_'s bio-skin is just organic enough to be affected by heightened radiation." She fixed her eyes on her audience, enforcing the seriousness of her words. "If the radiation levels get too high around McNamara, then we'll risk making the _boat_ sick, gentlemen. Not too mention what it'll do us."

Captain Nathan Bridger grimaced, but nodded in assent. "Duly noted, Doctor. Please ensure that the crew takes whatever medical precautions you deem worthy."

"I will, Captain. But at this point there isn't much we can do."

"Very well. Hopefully this situation won't be--"

"Captain?" Lieutenant Tim O'Neill called from his station at Comms. "I'm sorry to interrupt, sir, but Dr. Westphalen is needed on C-deck. It seems Darwin brought a friend back who could use your help, doc."

"Darwin?" Bridger asked, glancing involuntarily at the sealed hatch to the bridge's swimtube. Kristin took her leave with a murmured goodbye. Human or animal, it made no difference to her. She would do what she could to help.

"Yes, sir. He came in a few minutes ago with another dolphin. Ensign Graves is asking for the Doc as it seems this other dolphin is having trouble breathing. He says it was all tangled up in a net." The bespectacled communications officer turned in his chair to catch his captain's eye. "Darwin is really agitated, Captain. He's talking too fast for the vocorder to translate and won't move from the other dolphin's side."

Nathan nodded. "He's worried. I would be, too." The Captain hesitated for a moment, torn by indecision.

His XO sensed his dilemma. "It's okay, sir. You go on, I can handle things here."

Bridger smiled gratefully, already moving toward the exit. "Thank you, Commander. You have the bridge. And Tim?" he called at the hatchway. "Could you have Lucas meet me at the moonpool? I'll need his help to calm Darwin down and figure out what happened."

"Yes, sir," the lieutenant affirmed, but the Captain was gone.

~*~*~*~*~*~

The doctor strode onto C-deck and into a scene of controlled chaos. Two members of her medical staff were kneeling in several inches of cold water, instruments pressed against the thick skin of a small bottle-nosed dolphin. Several of _seaQuest_'s crewmembers, as well as one security officer, were submerged in the moonpool and busily trying to hold back their determined marine crewmate.

"What's the situation, Frank?" she asked the head veterinarian, a balding middle-aged man with a ribald sense of humour but a truly gifted touch at treating injured animals. Darwin loved him.

The vet listened to the dolphin's raspy breaths, specialised stethoscope pressed against the calf's blowhole. "It's not good, Kristin. He's breathed in a lot of water, I can hear it sloshing in his lungs. He's struggling just to get enough oxygen to stay conscious." He looked at her with shuttered emotion in his eyes. "We're going to have to drain some of the fluid out of his lungs if this little guy is going to survive. There's still too much of a chance he might drown."

Dr. Westphalen looked down at the grey dolphin draped limply on the platform. His expressive black eyes were glazed and weak, and even his permanent dolphin-smile seemed to droop. Her heart lurched at the thought of this poor animal dying from some human folly. She glanced up, catching Dr. Frank Theriault watching her. "Let's do it," she nodded, and the team sprang into action.

While the medical team was assembling the tools they'd need to clear the water from the dolphin's lungs, another team set about organising a harness to lift and hold the small mammal in. Darwin, however, took one look at the dark blue contraption they always used to take him away from the water with and panicked. "No!" he screeched, and this time even the vocorder picked up his cry. He slipped his body in between the harness and his young charge. "Leave him!"

"Darwin, buddy, it... okay!" a familiar voice cut through his fear, the phrase brokenly transmitted by Lucas's machine. "Let them do their jobs."

Darwin stopped, rolling in the water to look at the new arrivals. His huge dark eyes sought reassurance from the two humans he trusted most in the world. "Help dolphin?" he asked, just barely remembering to slow and simplify his speech enough for the machine to understand.

His friend Bridger wobbled his head up and down in the human's gesture of agreement. "Yes, pal. Give . . . room. Doc . . . help . . . make better." Bridger leaned over the moonpool, tapping his palm against the glass. "Come here," the vocorder translated.

Reluctantly, the dolphin did as asked and drifted over to Bridger. Lucas, his favourite playmate, was already slipping into the removable skin he used when he swam with Darwin. The boy jumped into the water just as the humans manoeuvred the calf into the harness. Darwin twitched nervously.

A hand stroked along his melon and down his back. "It be okay, Darwin," the machine translated for the human boy. "Kristin help . . . friend." The hand paused, then swept back up to begin its journey anew. "What happen?" Lucas asked and even through the mechanical translator Darwin could hear the curiosity and concern mixed in his voice.

The dolphin drew comfort from his podmate's presence, pushing his head up into the hand petting him. "Not know," he answered slowly and carefully, unwilling to let the machine misunderstand him this time. "Found. Trapped. Sinking." He glanced back at the activity surrounding the motionless figure and clicked in sorrow. "Young," he told them. "Calf. Alone."

"Shit," Lucas hissed, the vocorder decoding the profanity as the boy had recently programmed it to. Darwin still didn't understand all of Lucas's new words which didn't always mean what they were supposed to, but he knew this one. And agreed with the sentiment.

But maybe Bridger didn't, because he took his eyes off the chaotic scene to glare at the young human. "Lucas . . . " he growled, but whatever else he was going to stay was pre-empted by a high-pitched squeal of fear and pain.

Darwin was over at the calf's side instantly. "Easy, little brother," he whistled soothingly, rubbing his snout along the youngster's. "You're safe now. It's alright, calm down. You're safe. My friend's are helping you, you're going to be okay."

A dulled, frightened and painfilled eye flickered open to lock with his own. Darwin chirped encouragingly, trying to reassure the calf that everything was going to be okay. Around them, several of the humans began to pack up their instruments and move away. Dr. Frank, Darwin's personal veterinarian, leaned forward to place his flat round listening device against the calf's blowhole. He smiled, pleased, and Darwin relaxed muscles he hadn't known he'd tensed at the sight of the human's teeth. 

Trust a human to have an expression of pleasure that meant _danger_ in every other creature Darwin knew. Humans were strange creatures indeed, but that they'd been able to save the calf where he had not just went to prove that they were handy to have around. 

"Thank you," he clicked softly at the vet, bestowing a grateful dolphin-smile on the hairless man.

Dr. Frank showed his teeth again. "You're welcome, Darwin. He be fine . . . need rest," the doc told him and waved to have the harness lowered back into the water so they could release their patient.

Darwin hovered anxiously as the calf was dropped back into the water, though the harness wasn't removed. "Keep float, help breathe," Lucas informed him when he pecked at it with his nose, and Darwin took him at his word. The little dolphin was fast asleep after its brush with death, neither side of its brain sparing the energy to keep alert. Darwin settled in beside the small calf, positioning himself to monitor his charge until the young dolphin was better. He closed his own eyes and prepared to sleep himself, one half of his brain shutting down for rest while the other stayed active to guard the pod and remember to breathe.

~*~*~*~*~*~

Noon had long since come and gone, and for three friends drifting along the surface, mild concern had morphed into worried alarm.

"He's not coming back, is he?" Lucille asked weakly, her voice wavering with dread. "Something's happened to him. He got eaten by a shark," she hypothesised hysterically. "He's dead. And we're all gonna die because nobody knows where we are and we don't know where we are or how to get home and I'm gonna drown in my sleep and--"

"Lucille!" Willy rebuked her sharply. "Get control of yourself. We're not going to die. And we don't know what happened to Einstein. Maybe he just went too far and it's taking him longer than he thought to get back. Panicking isn't going to get us anywhere, so don't start."

"Easy for you to say, you big lug!" her fear subsumed as her temper was stoked. "You're a whale! You can survive just fine in the ocean, you don't need land. Jesse and I do... we're gonna drown!" she wailed.

"No we're not, Luce," Jesse said tiredly, his body slumped in an awkward sprawl over his best friend's back. "Willy's with us, he'll keep us safe. Look, it's almost nightfall. I'm cold, I'm tired, and I'm hungry," he said, ignoring Lucille's hasty '_me too_'. "We'll give it until morning. If Einstein isn't back by then, we'll have to try and find help ourselves."

"Why couldn't we have done that already?" Lucille groused. "Why'd we have to stay with the boat?"

"Because we aren't familiar with this part of the ocean as is. And after getting thrown who-knows-how badly off-course by the storm, we were completely lost. If we'd gone off half-cocked, we might have headed farther out to sea and away from help. What good would that have done us?" Jesse reasoned. "At least by staying near the wreckage we've got a marker for any Search & Rescue team. They might spot the debris from the air or something."

"Look, Lucille, there's a small shoal of fish a little ways off. I've been tracking them for the past few minutes. We don't you go see if you can't catch something for dinner. I'll wait here with Jesse," Willy offered.

Jesse suddenly slid off Willy's back and plopped into the water with a *sploosh*. "You go on too, Willy," he suggested when the orca turned to him questioningly. "I'll be fine for awhile. My leg stopped bleeding hours ago, and we've haven't seen any sign of sharks. There's no reason why we should all starve," he added in exasperation when his friends just stared at him.

"Yeah, all right," Lucille sighed unenthusiastically. "C'mon, big guy, show me where the fish are."

Willy hesitated, but began to move off at a pat from the boy. "We won't be long, Jesse," he assured. 

"I'll be fine, guys. Enjoy your chocolate!" he called after them. As the unlikely pair, sea lion and killer whale, headed off to hunt together, Jesse sighed and took a look around. He'd already investigated every piece of flotsam still floating, so he knew there was nothing useful to be found. But he was bored, there was nothing better to do, and hell... he needed to stretch his legs anyway.

He started swimming another circuit of the wreckage. "Once more around the block, James," he murmured to himself, "and don't spare the horses."

~*~*~*~*~*~

The pain was the first thing Einstein noticed as he awoke. That he could breathe was the second, and his eyes shot open with a startled yelp.

"Whoa! Easy, little one," a voice calmed him, and Einstein started to turn to look at its source. 

"Don't try to move yet," the voice continued, getting closer until another dolphin moved into his field of vision. "My name is Darwin. I brought you back to my pod, you're safe here," the stranger added.

Einstein shuddered as he was reminded of the horrible fate he'd almost suffered. His whole body still ached, his blowhole worst of all, but he welcomed the sensations. He owed his life to the bigger dolphin and he knew it. "I'm Einstein. Thank you for saving my life," he whistled softly, taking a shallow breath to ease the ache in his lungs. 

Darwin clicked comfortingly at him. "You're welcome, Einstein," he said. "You had me really worried for a while there, little one. I'm just so glad my friends were able to help you. I'd feared I was too late to save you, it took me so long to get to you after your distress call."

"Thank you for helping me," Einstein repeated sincerely. "I didn't really think there was anybody out there." He squirmed uncomfortably, feeling something putting pressure on his flippers. "What the . . ?" He wriggled his aching body, trying to move but found that he couldn't.

The other dolphin seemed to realise what was wrong. "Oh," he said, "it's okay. My friends put you in a harness to help you stay up at the surface because you were too tired to do it yourself."

"Harness?" Einstein questioned uncomprehendingly.

"Yes, my friends are humans," Darwin added, somewhat cautiously. It had been because of humans that the little dolphin had been hurt after all, he might not be too happy at being surrounded by them now. "But they're good humans," Darwin hurried to add, "they helped you breathe again." 

"Well, now, Darwin... is our little friend awake?" a strange sounding voice suddenly posed before Einstein could say anything else. 

The four-year old froze as he heard it, as the odd voice seemed to come from all around him. He looked around as much as he could from his restrained position and was only mildly surprised to find himself in a tank inside a human building of some sort. He could see no source for the voice though. "Where are we?" he asked Darwin, "and what was _that_?"

Darwin clicked at him at him again. "We're in a big boat," he said. "These human's are my pod, this is our home. This is _seaQuest_. What you just heard was Dr. Frank, the human who helped you breathe, talking to us through a machine. The machine changes our speech into words the humans can understand, and translates human speech into sounds we can understand."

"You mean you can talk to humans?" Einstein asked in amazement. "Any human?"

"Yes," smiled Darwin, pleased to see that the calf's natural curiosity was superimposing his fear. "It's not perfect," he elucidated. "The machine isn't all that smart. You have to speak very slowly and very clearly, and it only understands the most basic of sounds -- so it can't understand anything we're saying now, for instance -- but it's enough that we can communicate. My friend Lucas built it," Darwin added proudly. "He's almost as smart as a dolphin."

"Wow!" Einstein exclaimed. He was so impressed and so excited that he almost missed the feel of the cold metal object being pressed against his melon. If it hadn't been for the older male's carefully enunciated question of "Einstein okay?" he would have ignored the familiar feel of a veterinary exam. He was quite used to Dr. Kate Haley giving him check-ups, and thought nothing of the other dolphin's human friend poking at him. Until he realised that unlike Dr. Kate, he didn't need Jesse to speak for him. He could do like Darwin; he could talk to this human himself.

What a marvellous machine!

"So, your name Einstein?" the human asked, the machine's stilted speech patterns making him sound funny. "Nice to meet you, friend. You safe, get all better now."

Einstein was elated. "I can understand you! This is so cool!" he whistled excitedly. Darwin tapped their snouts together, reminding him to go slower. He tried again. "Hello, Doctor," he said clearly, "thank you for saving me." And he dissolved into happy chitters when the human smiled and patted his head in acknowledgement. 

"You feeling better, Einstein? I . . . you want go free?" the human asked. Einstein turned to his new friend in confusion. 

"What did he say?"

Darwin grinned. "I told you the machine wasn't perfect. Sometimes you have to guess what they're trying to tell you. I think he wants to know if you want out of the harness."

"Oh . . . yes, that'd be good," Einstein agreed and painstakingly told the machine. The human bared his teeth again and stood up to press some buttons. The next thing Einstein knew, he was tipped over on his side as the harness was slid out from under him. He rolled back upright and broke the surface again, gasping to make sure he could still breathe fine on his own. "Whoa!" he said. "Give a guy some warning, would you?"

Darwin laughed at him. 

~*~*~*~*~*~

"I see our visitor is doing well," Captain Bridger said as he approached the moonpool and saw the young dolphin frolicking with Darwin. 

"Yes, Captain," Dr. Theriault, the vet, said with a smile. "And his name is Einstein. Darwin must have been telling him about the vocorder, because he seemed quite excited that he could talk to me." He looked over at the Captain with a pleased grin. "He thanked me for saving him."

Nathan smiled back. "That's good. He's polite, I like that," he joked. Then he looked over at the moonpool where the two dolphins were playing with the sub's teenaged computer analyst. "They look like they're having fun."

"Yes, sir. Lucas showed up a few minutes before you did and Darwin and Einstein had him in the water before he'd even gotten the chance to say hello." They both watched the 'kids' play. "I'm not sure which one of them is having the most fun."

Nathan chuckled. "All of them, I'm sure." He turned back to the doctor. "Is Einstein back to health then?"

The doctor nodded, suddenly serious. "Mostly, sir. His lungs are still a little weak, and will be for quite some time. But it shouldn't slow him down too much and the exercise is good for him. He was in remarkable health prior to this incident, and just judging from his reactions to me over the last little while, I'd say he's no stranger to human intervention."

"He isn't," Lucas added from his place draped over the moonpool wall. The two dolphins, happily chasing and splashing one another, were clicking and whistling in conversation faster than the vocorder could translate. "Einstein was just telling me that he was raised by humans, and he still lives with them today. I haven't found out yet what he was doing out in the middle of the ocean by himself though." The genius looked back as the younger dolphin suddenly leapt out the water, performed a flawless backflip, and slipped smoothly back under with barely a splash. It must have been a challenge of some sort because Darwin was right behind him -- only the older, stronger dolphin jumped higher and added a twisting spin to his backflip. The competition was on.

"See, sir?" Lucas continued with grin. "They've both been so excited to have a dolphin playmate, neither one of them has calmed down enough for the vocorder to understand them. I'm just waiting for them to wear themselves out before asking Einstein his story."

Bridger leant over the rail beside the teen. "I'm glad he's okay," he said. "But I am curious about where he comes from. Our WSKRs reported back no presence of a dolphin pod anywhere in the area."

"Not dolphin pod," the vocorder interjected. The dolphins, having noticed their visitor, had ceased their game to pay attention. They bobbed at the surface on either side of the human pair, and the one who spoke was obviously the _seaQuest_'s newest guest. 

"Not dolphin pod," Einstein repeated when he saw he had their attention. "Pod human, orca, sea lion. Jesse, Willy, Lucille. Need help. Bad storm. Boat sink, Jesse hurt. Lost. Darwin pod save?" he asked hopefully. 

Nathan and Lucas traded glances. "You were caught in a storm? With a person, a killer whale, and a sea lion?" Lucas asked incredulously. "If it weren't for the fact that I know dolphins don't know how to lie, I'd think you made that up."

But Einstein thrashed angrily in the water. "No lie. Einstein pod need help. Einstein look for help. Einstein get trapped in net, drown. Darwin save, bring to pod, bring to _seaQuest_. Now _seaQuest_ save Einstein pod," he demanded, slapping his fluke against the water.

Darwin chirped at him, and for a few moments he and his dolphin brethren conversed too quickly for the inter-species linguistical computer program to register. Then Darwin rolled to look his oldest friend in the eye and flatly announced, "Bridger send launch. Follow Darwin and Einstein. Save Truth-Talker," and he and his new friend disappeared to go wait at the closed modified torpedo doors that let the boat's cetacean crewmember in and out.

The Captain sighed, looked at the boy smirking by his side, sighed again and then nodded in resignation. He drew his PAL, patched in a line to the bridge, and ordered the submarine raised to 200 meters so that Darwin and their guest could be released sans-airpack. Then he ordered Lt. Ben Krieg to ready a shuttle for launch, outfitted for a Search & Rescue mission.

Bridger disconnected the PAL and stared at the ripples in the water. "I'm not getting paid enough," he decided, refusing to look at Lucas, "to be taking orders from a fish." 

And he walked out to the sound of one teenager's laughter.

~*~*~*~*~*~

To Be Continued . . . 

**Author's Notes:** Next chapter Jesse and the 'pod' actually get rescued, the plot thickens, and the humans get more screen time! But don't worry, life from the animals' perspective shall continue. I'm actually finding it easier to write about them than the people in this story. Go figure. (Yes, I'm still insane.)


	3. Chapter Three

**Author's Notes**:   Here be Chapter Three.  Anybody still reading this thing?  Eh, what do I care? ::shrugs philosophically::  I still haven't figured out why I'm _writing_ this blasted thing.  Please note that this is still a work in progress, and edits are ongoing. Chapters One and Two were updated with revised versions at the posting of this chapter.

* * *

Yet Again, Still Untitled

By Moonbeam

Lt. Ben Krieg backed the shuttle out of the seaQuest, swung her around and immediately spotted the two dolphins he'd been instructed to follow.  

"MR-4 is clear of seaQuest, sir.  I can see Darwin and his friend now.  We're ready to go whenever they are."

"Affirmative, MR-4."  The Captain nodded to Lucas, who immediately triggered the vocorder's transmission outside the boat. "All right, old friend," Bridger said to the waiting dolphins, "lead on.  The shuttle will follow."

Darwin swam a circle in acknowledgement, then he and Einstein took off toward the north-northeast.  Lt. Krieg manoeuvred the shuttle behind them and kept pace with the swiftly moving dolphins.  "So, what are we looking for again, sir?"

Standing on the bridge watching the shuttle through the WSKRs, Bridger smiled indulgently.  "An orca," he declared straight-faced.  Only the gleam in his eyes gave away his amusement.

Ben Krieg's double-take was classic.  "You want me to rescue a _whale_?"

At his station monitoring the rescue party's progress, Lucas leaned back in his seat and smirked.  "Why not?" he quipped.  "We just  rescued a dolphin."

Nathan swatted the teenager upside the head.  "Lieutenant, you're going to rescue somebody named 'Jesse'.  Darwin's new friend, Einstein, said he was with a killer whale and a sea lion.  So that's what you're looking for," he clarified.

"A killer whale and a sea lion," Krieg marvelled, shaking his head.  "What is this world coming to, when mortal enemies travel together?"

"Lieutenant," the Captain admonished, though his lips were twitching.  "This is a serious Search & Rescue mission. And the seaQuest has a reputation to maintain.  It doesn't matter what species is in need.  The seaQuest doesn't discriminate."

"Yes, sir.  But a whale?  Where are we going to put it?" Ben wondered, shaking his head in bemusement.

"Don't worry, Lieutenant.  I've already got a team taking care of that very issue.  You just find Einstein's lost 'pod' and bring them back here."

"Yes, sir," Lt. Krieg said, becoming serious.  "Looks like we're coming up on them now.  I'm picking up a fairly large signal on the sonar.  Must be the whale.  I don't see any sign of anyone or anything else though."

Bridger raised an eyebrow.  Lt. Miguel Ortiz swivelled in his chair to offer a possible explanation.  "The whale might be overshadowing the other signatures, Captain.  Especially if they're very close together."

The two dolphins the shuttle was following suddenly broke for the surface and raced off the final distance.  Krieg carried on course until he was almost under the motionless sonar blip and then brought the shuttle up right beside the patiently waiting killer whale.  His jaw dropped in shock at what he saw.

"Uh, Miguel?" he said when he recovered his tongue.  "How's being practically piled on top of each other for 'close together'?  Darwin and his buddy just popped up next to the killer whale, and there's somebody with a sea lion sitting on its back. Right up there against its dorsal fin! Man," he remarked in disbelief, "and I thought I'd seen everything."

"Why sound so surprised?" Lucas cut in.  "Einstein said they were part of his pod, that they were family. And you know as well as I do that dolphins never lie."

"Not unless they're told to, at least," Nathan added, casting a significant look at the boy.  Lucas ducked his head in abashment, but his grin grew.  The Captain was still holding a grudge over the prank the teenager had pulled on his guardian the previous month, wherein he'd had to enlist Darwin's cooperation to pull it off.  The playful dolphin had been all too happy to repeat the lie as his podmate had instructed him to.  When he came out of the moonpool's storage locker covered in green slime, however, Nathan hadn't been pleased with either them.  Lucas had been grounded for over a week after that one, and poor Darwin had been confined to the boat for just as long.  Darwin hadn't understood what he'd done wrong, which had gotten Lucas into more trouble for 'using' the dolphin, but the resident boy genius had felt the brief entertainment value was well worth the punishment.  Even when he was forbidden from the Internex and his keyboards' were locked up on him.

"Yeah, well . . ." Ben continued.  "Maybe you should have been the one to come on this rescue mission, Lucas."

"Why's that?" Lucas asked gamely.

"Because it looks like Einstein's friend 'Jesse' is a kid your age.  Heck, I think that boy's even scrawnier than you are!"

Lucas rolled his eyes at the supply officer's heckling.  "Thanks a lot, Ben."

"Gentlemen," Bridger interjected mildly.  "If we may proceed with the mission?"

"Yes, sir," Lt. Krieg replied, instantly contrite.  "Ensigns Cogswell and Dusek are retrieving the boy now."

~*~*~*~*~*~

Skimming along with the shuttle right behind them, the water being pushed forward by its passage easing their way, Darwin exchanged a glance with Einstein and grinned.  Even in the midst of a serious mission, the two young males could appreciate a little fun.  And riding bow waves was _always_ fun.

"So tell me again how you wound up with a killer whale and a sea lion for a pod," Darwin prompted, as he took his cue from the calf beside him and subtly altered his course.  The shuttle followed obediently.

"Willy and Jesse found me sick and hungry, lost in the ocean.  They brought me home with them, and Jesse's human friends helped me get well again.  But I still didn't know anything about living in the wild, so Willy offered to teach me. He's taught me to how find and catch fish, about the dangers of the ocean, even how to flirt with females," Einstein added with a wink.  "He was supposed to be teaching me how to fight sharks this weekend when Jesse and Lucille decided to go sightseeing.  I was glad to go with them."

"Wanted to skip out on your shark-fighting lesson, huh? My mother would've bitten my fluke if I'd tried something like that! Uh, actually . . ," Darwin paused, whistling guiltily, "she did.  But now that you mention it," he continued quickly, changing the topic off his own embarrassing calfhood exploits.  "I'm surprised you don't have a shark as a member of your little motley group."

"Actually," Einstein laughed self-consciously, "we sort of do.  His name is Slash -- he's a tiger shark.  Jesse saved him from poachers and then he returned the favor by saving Lucille from a mako."

"A mako went after a sea lion?" Darwin asked, confused.  Makos might have been fierce fighters, but they weren't all that big or quick. A sea lion shouldn't have been at risk.

"She was injured," Einstein explained, "couldn't swim away or defend herself.  Slash charged the mako and drove him off, then stayed to protect Lucille until Jesse came by with a boat to pick her up.  Lucille even said 'thank you'.  I think she might of, you know, _liked_ Slash after that," he confided with a chuckle.

Darwin whistled in amazement.  "And I thought I lived an exciting life."

Then they were approaching the site of the wreckage and conversation between them ceased as Einstein bolted ahead.  "Willy!" he called, leaping excitedly into the air.  "I found help!"

The huge killer whale startled awake, as did his passengers.  Lucille screeched in fright and fell backwards into the water, jolting Jesse. They barely had time to recover before the seaQuest launch surfaced nearby, sending the sea lion scrambling.  She ducked around the orca and hid behind him, climbing his back again to peak out through the safety of Willy's drooping dorsal fin. 

Darwin popped up a little ways off to watch the reunion and observe his new friend's most unusual pod.  He hovered in the water close to the shuttle, thinking they made a good pair.  His own family was every bit as strange. 

"Einstein! Where have you been?! We've been worried sick!" the human boy perched the killer whale exclaimed.  And Darwin amended his previous thought as he understood every word without benefit from the vocorder. There were _some_ major differences. Like that while they could both talk to humans, he needed a computer to translate for him.  Einstein was lucky enough to know a Truth-Talker, one of those rare individuals born with the innate ability to understand the common animal language.  Jesse could talk to any animal, any time he pleased.

Truth-Talkers were revered by the animal kingdom.  The unusual ability some humans had to communicate with the other species sharing the planet was considered a special gift.  It was said to be bestowed by the Great Spirits only to those of the purest of souls.  Darwin had only ever heard of them as myths, legends passed on from the elders of each generation. The story of the Truth-Talkers was a favorite among the young of any species, but few really believed them to be anything more than the fanciful tales of their ancestors. 

Darwin had never considered he'd one day be fortunate enough to meet one.  Yet here one was, and in need of his pod's help. Darwin didn't know how to react to this calfhood fantasy become reality.  He looked to his new friend for guidance.

"I'm sorry, Jesse.  I got caught in a net and almost drowned! Darwin," Einstein was explaining, "saved me.  But as soon as I got better, we brought his pod back to help.  Look, they're humans too!"

But Jesse didn't answer, because the launch hatch was opening and a man was crawling out.  The crewman called out to the boy, speaking the human tongue that none of the animals could understand.  Everyone, even the great predator Einstein called Teacher, waited for the small boy's reaction.

"It's okay!" the boy yelled back, patting the orca on its head.  "I'm not hurt that bad, I'll come to you."

But the boy's friends had different ideas.  The whale's voice rumbled deeply as he spoke, and Darwin had to resist the urge to flee.  Killer whales and dolphins didn't usually hang around each other.  They weren't mortal enemies like the orca and sea lion were, but they weren't exactly civil cousins either.  Einstein's pod truly was unique.

"Wait a minute, Jesse," the orca said.  "Just what do these humans want, first of all?"

Despite being far enough away that the seaQuest crew could not hear unless he raised his voice, Jesse leaned over to whisper to the animals.  Darwin drifted close enough to listen without realising it.

"They want to take me back to their ship, I guess," the boy explained.  "He asked if he needed to come get me or if I could come to him."

"You're not going anywhere without me!" the female sea lion, the 'Lucille' Einstein spoke of with both fondness and exasperation, declared with surprising ferocity.  Darwin hadn't pegged her as the protective type based on everything the calf had told him, but it was obvious she was concerned about the boy's safety among strangers.  Then again, perhaps that was to be expected -- the boy was a Truth-Talker after all.  Any animal worth their spirit would feel protective of him.

"It will be alright," Darwin added, wanting to reassure them.  "No harm will come to you, Truth-Talker, or to any of you.  These humans are my pod, you can trust them.  They only want to help."

"Yeah, I got that impression too," the Truth-Talker agreed, looking at Darwin assessingly.  "I'm sure we'll all want to have a long chat later on," he said, "but for now I'd just like to get warmed, dried, and fed. What I'm concerned about is you guys. I can go with them in that mini-sub thing, and maybe Lucille too.  But what about Willy? Einstein? Or you, Darwin?"

"Their big underwater boat has special tunnels that Darwin uses to swim about in.  I'm sure they've got room for me and Willy, too. Won't they, Darwin?" Einstein cast a plaintive gaze at the older dolphin.

Darwin clicked reassuringly.  "Of course they will. seaQuest is a good boat, and it's very big.  My swimtubes are too small for your orca friend, but I'm sure Bridger has thought of some place to put him.  So you will all be coming with us?" he asked the group, but watched the Truth-Talker for the response.

"Guess so," Jesse sighed.  "Alright, come on Lucille.  Let's go get onboard.  You guys will stick close?"

"Count on it, Jesse," Willy confirmed and the Truth-Talker relaxed.  Darwin cocked his head in wonder.  The small human apparently drew great security from the fiercesome predatory whale.  Darwin would have to revise his opinions of all of them before this experience was over, he was beginning to see.

Then the boy called over to the rescue crew, and he and sea lion jumped into the water to swim the short distance over.  Ensign Cogswell helped the boy in, mindful of his injured leg (especially under the eye of a watchful killer whale), then he and Lt. Krieg fought to manhandle the persistent sea lion in as well.  Darwin almost laughed at the spectacle they made.  For every grunt of effort the humans made, the not-so-lightweight sea lion would berate them with indignant barks in her own language.  Darwin was almost glad he couldn't understand her.

"She's a feisty one," he commented admiringly when the sea lion nearly bit the ensign for trying to push her head first down the hatch.  They all heard the Truth-Talker yell at her to shut up and get down there already, then heard her distinctive yelp when Ben all of a sudden heaved her over and in.

The orca sighed.  "That she is, but we're used to her."

Then the shuttle was ready and they were underway.  The shuttle submerged to return to seaQuest and two dolphins and a killer whale set off at a leisurely pace behind them. 

~*~*~*~*~*~

"So young man, what are you doing out more than 100 miles away from the nearest shore?" Nathan asked, unconsciously using his 'dad' voice.  It was a tone he hadn't thought he'd ever use again after Robert's death; one which he'd locked away in the darkest part of his heart along with all his memories of his lost family.  He'd all but forgotten about it until he'd found himself calling upon that special tone designed to kick recalcitrant teenagers into obedience when he'd gotten a wet-behind-the-ears boy genius for a Chief Computer Analyst.  He found himself using it again with the bedraggled teenager his dolphin crewmember had insisted they rescue.  The one with the sea lion that refused to let the boy out of her sight, following her charge even into the medbay to Dr. Westphalen's extreme consternation.

Bridger wasn't sure he'd ever seen a more unlikely assortment.

Luckily, the 'dad' voice worked as it was supposed to.  The boy cringed guiltily and hurried to defend himself.  "My mentor is doing research on orcas at an underwater institute near here.  I usually help him out, since Willy listens to me, but they didn't need us today.  So I borrowed a skimmer craft to go exploring, and we were just fine.  The only trouble happened after we were caught in the squall and a wave destroyed the boat," he finished defensively.

Nathan's eyebrows had shot up in surprise when he heard the boy was from McNamara, the only underwater research institute in the nearby vicinity, but they dropped again at the last.  "You went out in a small boat, _alone_, with a tropical storm due in the area?"

Jesse crossed his arms and glared balefully at the disapproving parental tone.  Sitting on the exam bed, scraggly brown hair still dripping wetly around his ears, wrapped in a blanket while a nurse cleaned his leg wound, the boy looked more like a sulking five year old than a supposedly-competent teenager.  Actually, Nathan realised with concealed amusement, he looked a lot like Lucas did when caught doing something he knew was wrong.  

"I didn't know there was a storm coming," Jesse said absently, his attention diverted to watching the nurse carefully elbow a curious whiskered snout out of her field of vision.  "And I wasn't alone.  Willy, Lucille and Einstein were with me."  He tossed the watching sea lion a small fish from the bucket beside him. She swallowed the food in one gulp and went back to peering quizzically at the nurse's actions on her human friend.

Nathan smiled and shook his head as he watched.  Kristin had almost had a coronary when the boy had asked for something to feed the sea lion, ranting endlessly about germs and contamination of her sterile medbay.  She hadn't been any happier when the boy pointed out the place was already dirtied by the presence of the sea lion herself -- but it would have taken tranquilizers to remove the loyal mammal against her will, and not even Kristin was willing to do that.  

"An orca, a sea lion, and a dolphin don't generally make suitable sailing partners.  What if you'd been hurt worse? What if Darwin hadn't found Einstein and brought us to you?"  Bridger returned to the conversation at hand.

The boy rolled his eyes in typical teenaged exasperation.  "I would've been fine, I _was_ fine.  They're my friends, they took care of me. And Einstein did bring you, which no human could have done," Jesse added, the unspoken 'so there' ringing in the air.  

Nathan shook his head, giving up on that argument for the moment.  "You shouldn't have been out there at all.  There's been a tropical storm warning in this area for days now.  Surely your parents objected?"

"My parents are at home in California and Randolph knows I can take care of myself," the boy glared again, then winced when the nurse give him a shot.  The hovering sea lion barked threateningly at the perceived threat, startling the nurse. But the boy merely waved his hand in reassurance, and the sea lion settled right back down. 

"It's just an antibiotic," the nurse said in explanation.  Surprisingly, the salt water of the ocean seemed to have kept his long narrow gash relatively clean, so the risk of infection was unlikely.  The shot was only a precautionary measure.

"Randolph is your mentor at the Institute?" the Captain continued his gentle interrogation after the nurse was finished.

"Yeah, we do research on the killer whale population.  Willy's family, J-pod, were passing through the area.  Randolph and I are the experts on them," Jesse said proudly.

Bridger nodded obligingly, feeling a pang of sorrow for his own resident youth.  Whereas this boy displayed the normal teenage reaction of boastful pride, Lucas was always diffident to a fault about his accomplishments.  Some times Nathan wanted nothing more than to take Lucas into his arms and hug the stuffing out of him until the teen realised he was loved and appreciated.  Other times he wanted nothing more than to beat the crap out of whoever (and he had a pretty good idea whom it was) instilled that lack of self-esteem.  

"How are Willy and Einstein?" Jesse suddenly asked, hopping down from the bed and breaking Nathan's distraction.

Nathan smiled, reaching out to lend the limping boy a hand.  "They're fine.  We flooded one of our secondary launch bays part way and put the orca in there.  It's on C-deck, same as the moonpool which is where Darwin can usually be found. Darwin also has a swimtube that leads right into it, so the dolphins can still visit him."

After the boy changed into some dry clothes donated by Lucas, the pair headed out the door and Bridger lead them down toward the moonpool.  "The seaQuest was already on its way to McNamara Institute when we were diverted to rescue you, son, so we'll be able to return you safely without going any further out of our way.  We should be there in just a few hours.  Will your sea lion friend be staying with you, or should I have Ensign Graves set her up by the moonpool?"

"Nah, she'll probably stay with me the whole time," Jesse answered distractedly, all his concentration focused on hopping down the corridor in the slightly too-long jeans.  The sea lion in question followed doggedly in their wake, garnering a few odd looks from passing crewman on the way.  "Hey, wait a minute! How'd you know I was from McNamara?"

"Lucky guess," Nathan said, ruffling the boy's damp hair.  "It's the only underwater facility in this part of the ocean, so unless you drifted _way_ off course, it's where you had to be from."

"Cool," Jesse nodded.  "It'll be good to get back and change into some of my own clothes. I'm not the flannel-wearing type, you know? Not that I don't appreciate what you got me, 'cause I'm real grateful to be dry," he added hurriedly, casting the older man a look between his eyelashes to see if he'd offended him.  "Speaking of which though, where'd you get the duds to fit a kid on this boat?" The seaQuest was obviously a military vessel; not the expected place to find supplies suited to a skinny sixteen year-old.  And yet the clothing they had given him, while a bit long in the leg, otherwise fit his lanky frame perfectly.

His escort chuckled.  "They belong to our Chief Computer Analyst, whom you'll meet shortly.  I expect you and Lucas will get along quite well. The two of you seem to have a lot in common."

"Yeah, whatever. I'd like to check on Willy and Einstein before finding a meal and bed of my own, if you don't mind, sir.  It's been something of a hectic day."

The Captain smiled.  "I understand.  Lucas is probably with the animals right now.  I have to be getting back to the bridge, but I'll leave you in his capable hands. He'll show you to the mess, then find you somewhere to bunk down for a few hours."

"As long as your guy doesn't mind," Jesse said as they rounded a final curve and the moonpool came into view.  Jesse grinned as he saw Einstein and the other dolphin bobbing in the water side by side.  "Thanks, man."

"I'm sure it'll be no problem," the Captain assured.  He looked around for Lucas while Jesse went to greet the dolphins.

"Hey guys!" Jesse called, waving a arm as he limped over to the large half-moon shaped tank.  Both dolphins immediately swam over and issued a series of excited clicks in greeting.

"If you press the button on the square yellow thing to the right, you can talk to them," a raspy voice said from behind him.  Jesse spun to see a boy not much older than himself, dressed in ripped jeans and worn flannel similar to what Jesse himself was now clad in.  The other boy was watching him with a deliberately blank cast to his fair-haired face.  

Jesse's back immediately went up.  "Talk to them?" he stared right back.

The other boy nodded, moving closer.  "It's an interspecies translation device. The program converts dolphin clicks and whistles into English words and vice-versa.  I call it the vocorder." 

Jesse watched him manipulate the yellow hand-held machine.  Both dolphins were eerily silent, peering at the teenagers with matching deep black eyes.   "Who built it?"

"I did," the other boy said, lifting his chin in challenge.

Jesse grit his teeth.  "And who are you?"

"Lucas Wolenczak, seaQuest's Chief Computer Analyst.  Who the hell are you?"

"Jesse Greenwood, orca researcher, currently stationed at the McNamara Institute."

"Don't you mean 'orca trainer'?" Lucas contested.  "I saw your killer whale's drooping dorsal fin. They only get those in captivity."

"Yeah, which is where I rescued him from," Jesse sniped back.

The two teenagers glared at each other, body language aggressive, each unwilling to break eye contact before the other.  In their matching jeans and flannel shirts, longish untamed hair, and thin gangly frames -- though Lucas was an inch or two taller than Jesse and made good use of it to look down his nose at the shorter boy -- they looked like weird mirror images of each other.  It was the interrogative chittering of the dolphins that finally broke their stalemate, as Jesse turned to calm a nervous Einstein.  "It's okay, buddy," he murmured, reaching out to stroke the calf along its melon.

"Jesse, Lucas, friends?" Einstein asked carefully, and Jesse started as the dolphin's natural voice was echoed moments later by a mechanical one.  The effect was a bit disorienting, like holding a conversation with someone from opposite ends of a cave.

The really odd part was that Einstein was speaking in dolphin, not the common animal language Jesse innately understood. If it weren't for the other boy's device, Jesse would only have heard Einstein's squealing chatter.

"What the . . . ?" 

Lucas snorted.  "That's the dolphins speaking through the vocorder," he explained, then likewise turned to pet Darwin.  "What do you mean, guys?"

Again the disorienting resonance as the vocorder kicked in.  "Jesse - Einstein pod. Lucas - Darwin pod.  Einstein - Darwin friends. Jesse - Lucas friends?"

The logic was simple enough to understand. Einstein wanted the two teenagers, both important members of a dolphin's family group, to get along.  And whatever instinctive antagonism the two boys felt for one another was upsetting the young dolphin.  For the animals' sake, they'd have to be nice to each other.

Eyes locking above the dolphins' heads, Jesse and Lucas grimaced in tandem. 

~*~*~*~*~*~

To Be Continued . . . 

**Author's Notes**:  God, I hope this story isn't cursed or something. _Two_ of the actors playing my main characters are now dead.  You all likely know about Jonathon Brandis's untimely demise on November 12, but did you know Keiko the Orca died of pneumonia on December 12? _Coincidence_? You be the judge.


End file.
